[Stretch1224]

hey guys new to this forum , looks awesome tho , im finally redoing my 79 TA that ive had for 30 years ! has a 400 bored .30 over, nice cam , #48 heads, looking to put and FI system with fuel pump and everything but not sure which way to go, any ideas / recommendations are appreciated

[Scott65]

Its a broad topic, but I'll take a shot at it. First, you need to more narrowly define what you're looking to do. Do you just want fuel control, or fuel and timing? Are you looking for a tbi type set up, or port injection? Batch, or sequential? Etc. No matter which, plan for a new fuel system. The in tank set ups are nice, and quieter, and probably over all more reliable. There are options there too, that can depend on what you're trying to do. The Tanks Inc set ups are pretty nice, and reasonably affordable. On the other end of the spectrum you have the Ricks tanks with Vaporworx pwm controlled pumps.
For any of the EFI systems, your electrical system needs to be 100% up to snuff. Including all grounding. This is very much a garbage in garbage out scenario. Once you've narrowed down what you're looking to do, you can search here/ask questions about the particular systems that your interested in. I'll caution that you will find horror stories and success stories about the same units, here and elsewhere. That mostly can be attributed to quality of install issues.

[Stretch1224]

hey scott65, I think I want to go with the tbi set up with the timing ad fuel controls too

[Scott65]

The fitech and sniper seem to be the most popular here. I have no direct experience with either, but hopefully FormulaJones, or JLMounce will see this and respond. They can help compare/contrast the two of those. I've been on a standalone system for several years now. I started my EFI journey with the early model EZEFI from FAST. It worked very well, but was not capable of timing control. This was ~2009. Things have come a long way since then. Many options now.

[JLMounce]

It’ll be hard to go wrong with either a FiTech or a Sniper on that car. The engine likely makes too close to 400 hp to suggest the GoStreet from FiTech which is a basic no frills, no timing control fueling solution.

The FiTech systems now have a 3 year warranty which is kind of nice. That said if you absolutely know you want timing control, I’d probably go Sniper along with their hyper spark and distributor. It’s an all in one solution that makes the timing control setup pretty effortless.

Nothing wrong with the FiTech timing control, you just have to take the time to lockout and phase a distributor.

Choose one of the 600hp capable variants and then make sure it’s backed by a good fuel system. For this type of deal I’d recommend the Tanks Inc fuel tank along with one of their internal fuel pumps. The GPA-4 is the fried and true 255l/hr Walbro pump. It’s quiet, reliable and will support about 630hp in a normally aspirated gasoline situation.

It will however require a return line type fuel system as pwm control will burn it up.

The GPA 5 is a modern pwm controlled 340l/hr pump that would still work decent and give you a lot of room to grow. This pump can be pwm controlled by the ecu and thus have a dead head style fuel system.

Everything Scott mentioned about the vehicle electrical is also critical. If the car has electrical issues now, solve them before you try going to EFI. The same will be true of exhaust leak issues. These areas must be right and true to have success with EFI.

[Scarebird]

go big - sequential port injection with timing control via Edelbrock Pro Flow 4 - worked well for me.

[62posbonny]

I feel the same as above about the pro Flo 4. Once you price out a cheap TBI unit like a sniper, the dual sync distributor and an intake you are right in the same ballpark as the edelbrock. With the pro Flo you get the benefit of sequential port injection and although the tuning parameters are very basic the system just works well.

[Formulajones]

As long as you don't want to do much tuning with it, the pro flo is limited with canned tunes and no lap top tuning. Would work fine on a stockish engine, but if you need to do some tweaking, you're backed into a corner.

[Formulajones]

Like Scott and JLMounce mentioned, what ever you choose, don't cheap out on the fuel system. For sure get an EFI tank and put the tank in the pump, no question.

Don't go down the cheap road with a pump on the frame, or some auxiliary tank up front filled with a mechanical pump, you'll only have issues down the road and more headaches than you want to deal with, and in the end a bad taste for EFI as a result. Unfortunately these EFI systems are marketed that way and it bites more people than I can count.

Do what the OEM's have done since the beginning of EFI and put the pump in the tank. You'll be much happier in the long run.

[roger1]

Originally Posted by Formulajones

As long as you don't want to do much tuning with it, the pro flo is limited with canned tunes and no lap top tuning. Would work fine on a stockish engine, but if you need to do some tweaking, you're backed into a corner.

You start with a canned tune and then adjust from there using an android app on a phone or tablet that works wirelessly.

[JLMounce]

Originally Posted by roger1

You start with a canned tune and then adjust from there using an android app on a phone or tablet that works wirelessly.

This is true, but from what I've seen, the adjustments are still pretty rudimentary with that system. Basic changes up and down to things like fast accel.

Perhaps the system is just that good that fine tuning through software like the Holley's HP lite on the sniper or ProCal on the FiTech may not be needed. I don't know enough about the system to really say on that.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here that is worth noting. If the OP is using a factory intake, for the FiTech or basic Sniper unit, the intake would need to be changed. It's a bit of work to get these square bore units on the factory intake.

However, in that case, if you didn't want to change the intake, Holley has the SpreadBore "Quadrajet" version of the Sniper available. I'd look in that direction.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by roger1

You start with a canned tune and then adjust from there using an android app on a phone or tablet that works wirelessly.

Yes but as JLMounce points out the changes are minimal. Friend of mine ran into this issue. To get more in depth he had to contact Edelbrock and they weren't much help. In the end the system came off for a Holley. I could see a situation where someone could outgrow the system.

Never was a huge fan of wireless tuning with a phone either. Don't much like carrying my phone with me, let along use it for tuning, lol. Too small to read anyway. Tablet could be better for the old eyes, but much rather prefer a laptop and a dedicated program.

That's the big reason I sent back the Compushift trans controller. That is only wireless cell phone tuning and no way at all to even hook up a laptop, so that promptly went back in favor of a US Shift unit.
They really don't market a lot of these systems in a way to answer these types of questions before you buy. Compushift was an example of that. Others are guilty as well.

Keep in mind I'm not knocking the Pro Flo, just pointing out the idiosyncrasies of the system so the OP can make an educated decision.

[JLMounce]

FWIW on my FiTech, I've never needed to make tuning edits through the ProCal software. There's enough access via the handheld that for most users it's not needed.

However, the ProCal software allows you to manually alter the various VE tables, breakpoints and see datalogs in a better environment. Not everyone needs to manually alter that stuff though. If all you do is read the feature definitions provided and understand what they are doing, you can certainly create a very good tune for the FiTech with just the handheld controller.

[takid455]

I use a sequential multiport , distrubtorless system. I designed it & made to work with an OE ECU & sensors. I don't offer a plug n play kit as that was never the intent , however we've been looking into it. I do in house installs for those who want a turn key product.

Here's a video of it in operation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhTHRymPSlM&t=8s

[gassman_67]

Same thoughts here, by the time you buy a TB setup and distributor, nearing the cost of a pro flo setup. For the difference in the balance of the cost, gets you a tech upgrade from tbi to multi port.

[takid455]

I run a Pontiac 24X Multiport & coil near plug system. Not a low price setup (sniper/ fitech), but close to similar setups on the market. I have had excellent results from it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhTHRymPSlM&t=8s

[Formulajones]

The only issue with the Edelbrock setup is the lack of tunability, they are more can tune oriented with very basic changes allowed.

With that said I really don't view them as a multiport EFI option on the same level or playing field as some of the other stuff.

Not to make it sound bad, but there is a reason it's cheaper than other multiport setups and near the cost of the EFI throttle body stuff.

At least with the Holley EFI throttle body systems, I have full control of everything using a laptop and can make increment and intricate changes to anything and everything.

Basically the more you spend the more you get. A really good multiport EFI setup with the software and ability to tune everything is pretty darn expensive once it's all said and done.

That just needs to be pointed out to anyone considering EFI and reading these threads, because the entry level EFI person is not going to be aware of these idiosyncrasies with these different units, as this stuff is generally not pointed out in the advertising.

[Lee]

I've had the FAST XFI Sportsman system on my mild 455 for several years now, no issues. It is basically a FAST EZ 2.0, but with a better, more tunable ECU. It is actually a bit cheaper than the EZ 2.0, since it does not have the handheld unit (you use a laptop on this version). I have the FAST Dual Sync distributor with it.

I've put EZ 2.0 on a couple of other Pontiacs, and those have worked great as well.

David Page WAS the main guy at FAST. He got promoted to run Edelbrock's supercharger program, after the merger. I talked to him about the Edelbrock ProFlo systems, and he is rather impressed with them. He said they use a different algorithm than FAST, but it seems to work well.

[JLMounce]

The Pro FLow 4 systems have some nice things going for them. They've got comparatively a very nice harness and I hear strong things about the quality of the ECU.

I don't like the lack of granularity in the tuning options, but if the ECU's algorithms and speeds are so great as to not be needed, then that's not a huge issue. My biggest concern is that this is a sequential port setup (not batch fired) that uses a single oxygen sensor for fuel data. This leaves an entire bank of the engine dumb to injector issues. The TBI systems can get away with a single oxygen sensor because they are feeding common plenums, not individual runners. The fact that failure point is allowed to exist, regardless of the failure probability is not something I'd be willing to tolerate.

It's why IMHO if you feel the need for SMPI, I'd pass over the Pro Flow offerings and look at MS3, Holley HP/Dominator, Haltech or Fueltech. Especially because at that level, you gain access to CnP ignition which is a pretty big game changer over a phased traditional distributor.

[gassman_67]

I'm running Pro flo 4 also, only a few short trips so far as the car is not quite finished.